Old Man Winter
by Musicnutt
Summary: He comes for those lost in the blizzards. Don't go wandering in the woods else he'll take you up to his cave in the mountains to eat you. Kakashi meets the Boogeyman of the wintery land of Iron. There is a bit of timetravel implied.
1. Chapter 1

This just came into my head one day. It's sometime before Rookie Nine. A little time travelly.

It had been a relatively simple mission: deliver a mundane message to the Kage of the Land of Iron and come home.

Somewhere in between delivery and return Kakashi and his team had run into a group of Rock nin. What those Rock nin were doing out in Iron was beyond him, but in the conflict he had become injured and seperated from Kurenai and Asuma.

It also happened to be the middle of winter. In Iron, snow was something of a constant, but in winter the land was prone to sudden whiteout blizzards and avalanches.

Kakashi spat into the snow, leaving a splotch of crimson in the vast field of white. He had managed to defeat his opponents, but not before getting cut off from his team and receiving a few deep gashes in his chest. There had been a fleeting thought of making a fire jutsu, but the force of the winter gail would have just snuffed it out wasting what little energy he had.

Moving in the deep snow was like trying run in wet sand, every movement impeded with a heavy weight. Normally this wouldn't be that big of a deal; his endurance was quite formidable if the sharingan was deactivated. However, the biting cold slashed through his clothes and numbed the flesh beneath, while the horridly dry air burned his nose and throat. All of this combined with his profusely bleeding wounds left him dizzyingly weakened.

_A perfect time for Old Man Winter to come and get me._ Kakashi mused feebly, recalling the story that had been told at the Oden stand they had visited before heading out.

_It was a little hole in the wall resturant. The Oden had been hot and rejuvinating to their numbed bodies. As the old man behind the counter served them, two locals had struck up a conversation next to them._

_"Nope, I ain't going out tonight. Straight home after this." His companion smirked._

_"What? Afraid the Ghost is gonna get yuh?"_

_The cook turned to the men and grinned._

_"He has it right you know. It's no good business to be out in this weather. I spect a strong blizzard's commin." The old man turned back to the three shinobi."I say the same for you."_

_"We're shinobi, Ossan. I think we can handle a little snow." Asuma had replied. The old man clucked his tongue chidingly. _

_"Perhaps, but I don't think it too wise of you to go out tonight. These winters are brutal, especially if you aint familiar with the terrain."_

_One of the other men piped in."Yeah, If you go and get lost, no one can save yah."He smirked in a conspiring way. "An then Ol Man Winter will get yah."_

_The man's friend smacked him in the shoulder. "Don't you go on about that rubbish! It's just a boogeyman tale to keep the kids inside during storms."_

_"Nah! He's real! People have seen im!"_

_"Load of rubbish." But it didn't deter the man. He eagerly turned back to the three shinobi._

_"Wanna hear? Just to pass the time?" _

_Kakashi had just rolled his eyes. Kurenai and Asuma listened though._

_"He always comes out in the middle of the blizzards to attack the lost and injured. You get real disoriented by the storm and desperately lost. Just when you're about to pass out from exhaustion, a figure looms over you. White straggly hair, and eyes like glaciers-"_

_"Can see why he got his name." Kakashi muttered disinterestedly, savoring his oden._

_"He takes you away to his cave up in the mountains and eats you!"_

_"Shut up, will you." His friend grumbled, embaressed by the man's childish enthusiasm._

_"It's true!"_

_"There's no proof-"_

_"Of course there is!"The man puffed up in victory."How do you explain the hollows in the trees?"_

_"Hollows?" Kurenai asked. The man nodded so vigorously, Kakashi was surprised that his head didn't fling off._

_"If you go up high enough into the mountains, you'll see these trees with hollows gouched out of them. Big enough for a man to sqeeze in to shelter." He slurped his tea."No one really goes up there, except the hunters and woodcutters, but they all say they never did them. So who did, eh?"_

_"Probably a bear or somthin." His friend said dismissivly._

_"I tell you it's Ol Man Winter!"_

_The two men broke off into an arguement forgetting about their audience. The cook simply chuckled lightly._

_"Don't pay them any mind. They just like to scare the tourists." he said jovially as he refilled their tea cups. They murmured their thanks._

_Kakashi eyesmiled at the man."So you dont' believe in him then?"_

_"Nope. Just one of the spook stories that pop up around these parts." He paused for a moment." However, I do hope you won't go out tonight. The wind picks up awfully fast."_

_They glanced at each other."No. We really do have to get going." Kakashi said._

_The old man looked resigned."Well, alright. But if you're gonna go, go now, and quick."_

_As they exited, the storyteller shouted at their backs._

_"Watch out for Ol Man Winter."_

Now, on the verge of collapse, Kakashi couldn't help but think about him. He was never one for ghost stories, but the swirling whiteness that closed in from every side made him understand just a little why they came about.

There was no way to find the others, and he had no strength to heal himself as the cold numbness robbed him of willpower.

A mistep landed him facefirst into the life-draining white. He could no longer feel his limbs. The cold quickly seeped into his core. His thought processes slowed.

If only he could have found one of those hollowed trees.

If only he had heeded the old man's warning and cared more for himself instead of the mission.

If only-

_crunch...crunch...crunch..._

For a moment Kakashi feared that his delirious mind was playing tricks on him, but over the howling wind he could just make out the sound of approaching footsteps.

No longer caring if it was friend or foe, Kakashi cried out hoping to make himself known...only to find that a weak rasp escaped his wind chapped lips.

Too busy trying to make a louder sound, Kakashi did not notice the sound getting louder.

_crunch...crunch...crunch..._

Suddenly he became aware of a indisiferable shape towering over his prone body. He gazed up with one blurry eye.

Stringy hair coated in snow danced ominously around the figure's head. It's face shadowed as it seemed to look down on him.

_Holy crap...He's real..._

It was his last thought before succoming to unconsiousness.


	2. Chapter 2

He was dreaming. His body was floating in a white field of nothingness. Then after an indecipherable amount of time he was swallowed into a thick, warm darkness.

In some dim corner of his mind, Kakashi inferred that he had been eaten. Eaten by the winter entity, known as Old Man Winter.

Being eaten, he mused, was quite a bizarre experience. There had been no pain, or blood, or gore; just an enveloping warmth that had driven away the hellish chill from his bones. Quite frankly, death felt oddly homey.

Somehow this did not sit well with the young shinobi even in unconsciousness. Kakashi attempted to move his limbs, his body feeling almost comfortably numb with warmth. Fingers, toes, arms, legs, and head. Everything was here. Wherever here was.

He forced away the lazy weight of sleep and cracked open both of his eyes, feeling a prick of alarm when the restriction of the forehead protector was absent.

The world came into focus with remarkable slowness. He became aware of a weight on his chest. It was a thick, heavy blanket. The cloth was rough, but was wonderfully adept at holding in the warmth. Kakashi noticed that he was laying on a bed of furs. Bear pelt most likely, if one were to factor the size. He turned his head to take in his surroundings.

It seemed that he was in a cave. Strangely, the cave formed a perfect circle about fifteen to twenty feet in diameter. The stone walls looked weathered in some areas, while some others looked as though someone had carved into it. The room had probably been naturally carved out by the wind and snow, and then extended by the user. From the ceiling, the smoked carcasses of animals (he hoped) hung from iron hooks that had been screwed into the cold rock. Above the fire, however, the ceiling arched away and disappeared into the darkness.

The entrance he noticed had been partially blocked off by a large boulder so that only a crack, wide enough to squeeze through, remained. It had been calculatingly placed to block out the cold and wind, and probably detection from the outside.

In the middle of the cave, a smoldering ash-heap sat in a depression in the floor. A few embers glowed beneath the dust. Directly across from him a small pile of wood stood by the entrance, ready and waiting to feed the fire.

A few feet away from him were another pile of provisions. Canned foods, clothes, medical supplies, and what looked like an old shinobi survival pack had been carefully organized. It seemed that the owner of this cave was experienced and fully prepared for a long, hard winter.

It seemed that he had not been eaten after all, but saved. However, the shinobi pack instilled a little wariness in him. It could have been scavenged or stolen. Just because this person had saved him, did not make his current position safe.

Kakashi attempted to sit up but was shocked by a sudden rush of pain. Out in the blizzard, the cold had numbed the pain, but the thawing warmth of the cave had awakened the wounds. He hissed as he tried to relax again. His torso had been carefully wrapped in bandages swathed in a strong smelling ointment

For the time being, it seemed, he was stuck.

Faintly, Kakashi heard the sound of crunching snow, then the scraping of rock.

The mysterious owner of the cave had returned.

In the dim lighting Kakashi studied the man with a groggy eye. Snow dusted the straggly, wind-ripped hair and scruffy clothing. He was dressed in a heavy snow coat with an equally heavy grey scarf shielding his mouth and nose. In all honesty he looked like a large grey bear.

The grey bear had his back to him, dragging in what appeared to be a good portion of a tree. Its other end hit the floor with a loud thud. The man proceeded to hack the tree into chunks of firewood...with his bare hands.

This cemented Kakashi's suspicions. This man was a shinobi. The dead accuracy and strength of each crushing blow upon the wood screamed with years and years of training. The man's arm cut through the tree like a knife, splintering the log like a toothpick.

At last the man had finished and tossed the damp wood next to the fire to dry out. He turned to tend to the fire when his eyes caught sight of the silver haired shinobi.

The skin of the man's face looked weather-beaten. His eyes, which were a startlingly deep blue, were surrounded by lines and shadows from sleep deprivation and squinting against snow blindness.

Those squinty eyes widened for a moment in surprise. Kakashi also gave a start.

The man's pupils were slits, like a cat of some kind. There was an innate feral quality to them that made Kakashi shiver unconsciously.

The glacier eyes narrowed again, but this time with a little less chill in them.

"Good morning, Kakashi."

* * *

Okay, i totally know this is kinda boring but please bear with me. It's only a plot bunny, but please review. Please!


	3. Chapter 3

_Good morning Kakashi._

Kakashi's first thought was rather obvious.

"How the hell do you know my name?" his voice cracked embarassingly. The blue-eyed man simply gave a slow blink and procured a thin booklet from under the heavy layers of his winter clothes.

It was Kakashi's bingo book.

"Oh."

The two men ( at least Kakashi hoped the man was human) stared at each other in awkward silence. Kakashi fought down the urge to squirm under the piercing gaze. He was a Konoha shinobi, dammit! You don't show fear in front of a potential enemy.

_Is he though?_ His conscience questioned. _He did save you after all._

_He tended to your wounds, gave you his bed, and said hello. How ungrateful of you._

_**But, **_the shinobi in him argued, _**that doesn't make him safe.**_

A sudden movement in his peripheral startled him back to reality, making him sit up and jar his wounds. Kakashi fell back with a sharp hiss. _Shit!_

The would-be bear who had moved to rekindle the embers of his meager fire, cocked his head to the side in what seemed like amusement.

"Did you hurt yourself, Kakashi-san?" the man rasped in a hoarse whisper. It sounded as if he hadn't spoken in quite a while. Then again, who the hell was there to talk to out here?

"...urgh~"

His ice chips for eyes crinkled into gentle arcs.

"I'll take that as a yes." He shook his head chidingly and turned back to tending the fire.

He took a long, charred stick that spoke of many earlier times and stroked the fading embers into a decent glow. Then he reached over to the older pile of logs and chose a piece about as large as Kakashi's forearm and carefully slid it into the glowing patch of ash.

With a few more cautious prods, the fire had revived like a phoenix and was crackling happily in the center of the cave, the heat washing over Kakashi like a warm bath. The light of the flames gave his companion's hair an almost golden hue.

With ample lighting restored, the now blonde-looking man turned back to the injured shinobi.

"Now, let's see the damage, shall we?" his whispery voice not unkind, although a little patronizing at the end. He reached over to the pile beside the bed and opened the medical supplies. The man calmly pulled off the large fur blanket covering Kakashi and began to remove the bandaging.

Kakashi, made a little more docile from his painful blunder, watched with keen, if not nervous interest as the shaggy figure deftly sliced through the gauze with a sharp kunai (expertly held, he observed). There were no doubts that the mysterious man was, or had been, some kind of shinobi. But Kakashi could not discern any distinctive markings on the little of the skin he could see that pointed to any known villages.

An annoyed voice broke his thoughts. He looked up to see his savior (still potential enemy) glowering down at Kakashi's abdomen.

"You pulled the stitches." He muttered sullenly. Kakashi craned his neck to observed the damage as well.

Yes, he certainly had. A huge, gaping laceration across his chest was oozing blackened crimson. The gouge in his torso had been pulled open by his sudden movement and about half of the stitches had torn. The thing that puzzled him was that it didn't hurt like it was supposed to.

Being a shinobi, Kakashi was no newbie to stitched wounds, and he knew from experience that tearing them hurt like hell. But right now it didn't. Only when he moved.

"It's my own blend of ointment." The man rasped, seeming to read his mind. "Useful for bad wounds out in the field." The amused expression narrowed his eyes again. "But now I have to clean off, so brace for it." Kakashi nodded absently.

He opened a canister and began to dampen a cotton swath in its contents. The bitter smell of the antiseptic made Kakashi cringe. That was strong stuff, and it was going to burn like hell.

Hoping to distract himself from imminent suffeing, he asked the question that had been niggling in the back of his mind.

"Are you...are you Old Man Winter?" He asked, wincing at how childish it made him feel.

The man in gray paused for a moment, his eyes widening in a blank gaze, before hunching over. His body spasming with bairly repressed mirth. He laughed, at least that's what it sounded like. It was a relief to know that he did something as normal as laughing.

"'Old Man Winter'? Is _that_ what they call me now?" He chortled in a coughing fit.

"So it is you then?" _Please tell me he doesn't really eat people. _ It wouldn't be the first time he had met a cannibal.

Those impossibly blue eyes twinkled at him. "Well, there's no one else out here. Just me..." He paused thoughtfully. "And the bears...as you may have figured out."

Kakashi still didn't feel comfortable, glancing up at the racks of smoked meat that hung from the ceiling like grotesque windchimes. It made the cave remind him of a butcher shop. 'Winter' followed his gaze, the gray cloth covering his mouth wrinkling as he smiled.

"You hungry? I can cut off a piece for you when I'm finished patching you up." He said, focusing his attention back to Kakashi's wound. "Although, I'm not sure if you would be used to bear meat. "

"Huh?"

"Bear. It's a little gamey and tough to chew on, but it's decent in soup." He replied calmly as he poised the drenched swab, clenched in surgical forceps over Kakashi's chest.

"..Oh."

Kakashi was just wrapping his mind around the idea of bear soup when 'Winter' began cleaning.

"AAAAAUUURGH!!!" He howled as the antiseptic slave set his skin ablaze. The culprit just nodded sympathetically as he continued to gently dab the fileted flesh.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a bitch." He wheezed over the younger man's cries. "But what are you gonna do?" Kakashi couldn't have answered him if he'd wanted to. 'Winter' stopped for a moment to wet another swath.

"Lucky you didn't get frostbite, or I'd be cutting off your fingers and toes. Although, I'd probably knock you out for that. And then there's the risk of gangrene..." here the rest of the one-sided conversation was muffled by his yells as he resumed the disinfection. However, the distraction of his audience didn't seem to faze his tormentor.

Finally, it was over. 'Winter' tossed the bloody swaths into the flames, leaving Kakashi to catch his breath. The gray figure slowly gathered up the medical kit and tucked it away.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" 'Winter' said in a way that he probably thought was cheerful.

Kakashi just scowled at him, feeling for some reason that it was appropriate to pout now. If the other man noticed, he ignored the display.

The pain had dulled to an ache now, but he had no reason to suspect that his treatment was over. 'Winter' seemed to smile at the resignation on the young man's face.

"Don't worry. The worst is over." He gracefully kneeled next to Kakashi and held his hands out, palms down.

"Since you insist on hurting yourself, I'm not going to bother trying to stitch you up again." He murmured nonchalantly. "Waste of time, see? The thing is though..." He lowered his head to meet Kakashi's eyes.

"I'm really no good at medical jutsu. I can patch you up and stop the bleeding well enough, but can't heal the underlying bruises and flesh wounds. So you'll be sore for a long time after, unless you get a hold of a better medic."

His hands glowed bluish purple with chakra as he spoke.

The hands lowered. Kakashi hissed as he felt his skin melding back together. It wasn't painful so much as it was simply uncomfortable. As the glow died away, Kakashi caught another glimpse of 'Winter's ' eyes.

For some reason their shade was familiar to him. In a comforting way.

He gave himself a mental shake and found 'Winter' opening another canister.

The man noticed his stare and cast him a mocking look. "Oh, relax. It's just the ointment I was talking about. Looked like you needed it." Kakashi knew that he was smirking at him. Bastard.

He glanced down at his chest again. Not to bash his new companion, but he had seen better. The wound was closed, but his flesh was mottled with dark purplish bruising and rough scars. In essence the man had created a scab. A nice scab, but a scab all the same.

"Told you. It's just a patch job. I suck at medical jutsu." his raspy voice seemed to hold a grain of defensivenes this time as he loomed over Kakashi again. This time though, the swath was covered in a greasy slop. Kakashi wrinkled his nose a little. It wasn't quite as pungent as the antiseptic, but the menthol was strong.

He gave a rather undignified yelp as the glop soaked swath brushed his chest. It was cold!

'Winter' just rolled his odd-looking eyes.

Slowly the cool ointment began to warm. His skin began to feel tingly as the medicine did its work. As the pain melted away, he realized that he had become quite groggy again. Kakashi couldn't summon the strength to be alarmed as he fixed his blurring vision on the man next to him.

"What...what was...in..that..?" He mumbled. His eyes were growing rebelliously heavy.

'Winter' was now only a shadow as he drifted off. His voice seemed to echo from far away.

"Sleep well, Kakashi. "

And then he knew no more.


	4. Chapter 4

Oddly colored shadows danced like a flood of drunken butterflies. A kaleidoscope of strange blurs twirled about making him incredibly nauseous.

A speck of gold blossomed as the centerpiece of this psychedelic haze

It was familiar, comforting.

It flickered and flashed in the maelstrom of swirling lights, and Kakashi realized that he was staring at the back of someone's head.

A sudden swell of warmth filled his chest as he recognized the phantom before him.

"_Sensei."_

The figure turned at his call; its sky blue eyes squinting with the force of his smile.

Then the eyes opened and revealed glowing red irises, bleeding malice and killing intent out of their slitted black pupils. They were eyes he had only seen once before.

"_Kakashi-"_

He jolted awake, his lungs straining for air as his pulse pounded a war tattoo in his ears.

Cool sapphire eyes gazed steadily down into his. It took him a moment to realize that his Sharingan had activated, draining him of the little chakra he had recovered. Kakashi shut his eyes for several seconds, trying to regain his bearings, when he felt-felt?- Winter clear his throat.

Kakashi blinked in confusion and discovered the fingers of his left hand latched onto the front of the man's throat. Winter, on his part, seemed completely indifferent to the hand that threatened to cut off his air supply; an earthen bowl full of water was held in one hand, while the other held a damp cloth over Kakashi's forehead.

His Sharingan faded away as the silence between then stretched into awkwardness. A drop of coldness fell from the cloth and plopped onto the leaf nin's bare forehead, startling him into movement. His hand twitched and released its grip.

"Um…" he trailed off uncertainly, his arm drooping to his side in stilted increments.

Those eerie crystalline eyes just blinked at him before the damp cloth flopped over his face. The younger nin released an embarrassing squawk as Winter cleaned his face of the cold sweat that had accumulated over his skin during the dream. The cold cloth brought him into a more cognizant state, and as the gentle assault finally abated, he realized that the cave was much darker than when he had last been awake.

The fire had once again ebbed away to a somber little ash heap, allowing a faint chill to seep into the cave. The lack of light turned every pile of wood and provisions into menacing shadows lurking like enemy nin. The creak of the meat hanging from the ceiling echoed ominously. A pebble fell from the rock above and into the fire pit, kicking up a tiny mushroom cloud.

"Some dream, eh?" Kakashi stared guiltily as the man shifted the heavy scarf, which had been thrown askew by the attack, back over his nose, hiding all but his impossibly blue eyes and straggly, whitish (it was always difficult to tell) hair.

He noted the flecks of snow on the gray pelt coat. "Yeah, some dream." He replied uncomfortably.

After an uncertain pause, Kakashi made to apologized for his reaction, but was dismissed with a wave.

"Exhaustion, sickness and sever injury often cause strange dreams." Kakashi thought it was odd that Winter said "strange" instead of "bad". It was as if he had actually seen it.

Impossible.

The younger man felt decidedly unsettled as he watched Winter shuffle about again, pouring something from a small pot by the fire pit into a cup. Then the gray-clad man carefully shifted Kakashi into a slightly elevated position, pushing another roll of pelt under his pillow.

The clay cup was then urged into his hands. The temperature of its contents did not radiate through the clay, so he supposed it was cool enough to drink.

The lukewarm liquid flowed pleasantly over his tongue, leaving a slightly citrusy aftertaste; it smelled faintly of-

"Pine. Ran out of real tea weeks ago." Winter was filling another pot with water from a large kettle next to the bed. "Have to head down to the village again." He murmured to himself, getting to his feet, joints popping.

Kakashi took another sip of the pine needle tea as he watched Winter stride over to the fire pit with the pot of water. In the same motions as before, the man revived his precious fire before fixing a three-footed cooking grate over it. After placing the pot on the fire to simmer, he slipped out a large knife and started cutting off chunks from the racks of smoked meat above him.

The chains jingled as the butcher did his work. When he was satisfied with the harvest, he stood in front of the fire and hacked small pieces into the pot. To Kakashi's immense relief the distinctive smell of cooking human flesh did not waft out of the pot, but a mix of rabbit venison, and something else he couldn't quite place his finger on( Bear perhaps?) perfumed the small cave with its heady scent.

His stomach voiced its approval in embarrassing volume, drawing an amused glance from Winter. However, he was kind enough not to share his thoughts as he stowed the knife away and sifted through a bag, procuring several small tins and a ladle.

Utterly ravenous, Kakashi watched impatiently as small pinches of this and scoops of that made their way into what was turning out to be a promising meal. As the savory mixture stewed, Kakashi thought he heard a scratching sound against the rock outside. He stilled nervously, as Winter simply kept tending the pot. It could easily be a bear, an enemy nin ( if Winter was on the run), or an accomplice (if Winter was an enemy).

Kakashi cursed his incapacitated state as the sound grew closer. Finally Winter lifted his head.

"I was wondering when you would turn up, Mizore."

In a blink a white blur slipped into the room and bounded around the man, knocking over some of the tins he had set down, emanating sharp yips. Winter scowled down at the creature dancing around his feet in annoyance and frustration. "Oi, knock it off." He growled at it.

The thing immediately obeyed and sat on his pelt-wrapped foot. It was a fox, Kakashi realized. The thing was about the size of a small cat an white like the snow clinging to its fluffy fur. Two black marble eyes were set in the midst of its fluffy face which was crowned by two tiny ears.

'Mizore' as Winter had called her, was currently keening and whining up at him in what Kakashi could only thing of as unadulterated affection. Winter did not seem to share the sentiment.

"Pipe down already. I know you only come for the food, so don't bother kissing up to me." He rasped at her. Mizore proceeded to nip at his ankle.

From his experience with canines, Kakashi figured it was still a kit. Not quite old enough to leave its mother. Watching the duo was like seeing a child throwing a tantrum in front of its parent.

Winter finally had had enough, and Kakashi felt the back of his neck tingle. Mizore sensed the change as well and lay on its back, submissive and quiet.

The blue-eyed enigma, now left unmolested, ladled the stew into three bowls, setting one on the ground next to the prone fox, which did not stir from its position. Kakashi accepted his stew with vigor, almost not giving Winter time to procure him a spoon.

Winter turned back to the prone fluff ball and lifted it up to his face by its scruff.

"If you keep being bothersome, I'll toss you in the pot too." Mizore just licked his nose in reply and got a mouthful of scarf. Winter harrumphed and plopped it down in front of the bowl on the floor. He then sat himself by the fire and dug in with his guests.

The stew was invigoratingly rich and warm; full of thick chunks of savories. The meat was admittedly a bit tough, but was easily compensated by taste.

The little fox finished gulping down its meal first, not leaving even a smear on the clay. It made to scamper onto the bed of furs, when it became aware of its occupancy. Too focused on the food, it had forgotten about Kakashi. She bristled indignantly at this injustice and began to whine in frustration when he only stared at her.

"Spoiled brat." Winter muttered, sending the harassed nin an apologetic glance. "You're in her spot."

He scowled at the source of the ruckus. "Mizore! Enough." He hissed. Said fox grudgingly trotted over the Winter and settled itself in his lap; she stared at Kakashi with deep intent.

After having such a rejuvenating meal, Kakashi found it in himself to eye-smile at the pair.

"Cute kid. She yours?"

Winter rolled his eyes over the scarf in a sarcastic manner.

"No. She adopted me." He took another spoonful. "Found her last spring in one of the hollows. Now she won't leave."

This stirred a memory in Kakashi's mind. "Hollows?"

The other man hummed nonchalantly as he stroked the fox's fur. "Up here in the mountains the winds change real quick. Blizzards blow in with little warning. When I first came up here, I would always get caught in them, so I carved a hollow out of the nearest tree and wait for it to blow over." He paused thoughtfully. "Lately, the hunters and wood cutters like to use them." Winter finished the last of his stew and let Mizore lick up the scraps.

Kakashi regarded him curiously. "Is that how this ' Old Man Winter' thing started?"

Winter eye-smiled at him in a most mischievous manner that made Kakashi wonder if he himself had that effect on everyone. _A taste of my own medicine, I suppose._

"Maybe. A few years ago I found a hunter stowed away in one of my hollows. It was snowing hard as hell, so when he saw me I must have scared the bejezzas out of him."Those glacier eyes crinkled in mirth. "Ran off screaming like he'd seen a ghost. Next thing I know, I walk into the village and hear stories of a boogeyman, an abominable snowman, and who knows what else." He cackled hoarsely.

Kakashi reflected on his own encounter with the snow entity and felt a rush of sympathy for those unfortunate enough to experience it. The man looked positively monstrous in the storm. Winter boogeyman indeed.

"The samurai even came up here to dispel the rumors but got lost in the worst whiteout of the decade. Like so many others." He murmured in a subdued tone. "Found three corpses that spring. The others found my hollows and survived. Needless to say," Winter took Kakashi's empty bowl. "my reputation remains a little ominous."

With that, he dug out a basin from the supply pile, filled it with the remaining water in the kettle, broke off a chip of sap, and began to clean the bowls and spoons. Mizore climbed up to curl around his neck like the grey scarf and went to sleep.

As Kakashi turned his gaze away from the disturbingly domestic scene, he wondered what had become of his teammates. Had they survived the enemy nin? The blizzard? Were they searching for him?

Kakashi looked down at the bandages that wrapped around his torso, and tensed his muscles. A sharp burn of pain flitted through him. Any further movement would only result in debilitating agony. His chakra levels were still too low to send his dogs out to find them. He wasn't even sure how long he had been here.

Asuma and Kurenai could be long gone by now. He had to get a message to them somehow, but…

Kakashi glanced at Winter's back.

He still couldn't be entirely sure of the other nin's trustworthiness. However, even if he managed to leave, there was no chance of him making it down to the village in one piece.

In other words, he was stuck.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, it's been a while hasn't it? I've been really busy lately, so I haven't had much time to write. But I hope to update most of my stories this month, so please be patient.

* * *

After Winter had finished clearing up, Kakashi summoned the courage to broach the subject that had been plaguing him.

"I, uh…don't want to sound ungrateful, but…" he rolled the words around in his mouth, trying to find a polite way to phrase it. _I want to tell my friends that I'm still alive, so they can get me out of this wintery hellhole and to some real medics, because, damn, I'm tired of being an invalid, _didn't really feel like the right thing to say to somebody who had just saved your life and used up valuable resources for.

Hell, it would make him want to kill someone if it had been the other way around.

The shinobi deliberated until he noticed the peculiar expression in Winter's eyes. It was almost sadistically amused and mildly exasperated.

"You've been here a couple days, and I would like to have my bed back." The man tilted his head contemplatively. "Can leave as soon as you can walk on your own." Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek in frustration.

"I need to find my team." A horrible thought struck him. "Did you by chance-"

"Haven't come across anyone in my hollows yet. Been keeping an eye out." Winter interrupted mournfully. Omniscient bastard. "Hopefully, they made it back to the village."

_Sorry. There's nothing I can do._

Winter crouched down next to the incapacitated shinobi, his intense blue eyes studying his bandaged form. "If you're in that much of a hurry…" he rasped hesitantly. He glanced over his shoulder at his precious supply pile reluctantly.

Kakashi gripped onto Winter's arm. "_Please_. I'll do anything I can to repay you." _I need to find them._

Winter sighed and gently tugged his arm from Kakashi's grip and stood. The Leaf nin sagged in disappointment.

"How well do you handle morphine?" Kakashi blinked.

"Huh?" Winter glowered at having to repeat himself. He was particularly intimidating from the floor.

"Morphine. I have a bit stored away for emergencies. Enough to shoot you up for a few hours." Winter's shadow loomed over him. "But not enough to make it to the village. "

"Giving you enough four you to go all the way would kill you. Walking takes almost a whole day to make it down the mountain." He poked Kakashi's side with his toe, causing him to gasp in pain. "In your state, it'd take even longer."

"Can't carry you all the way. Jar your wounds. Midway path's too steep and narrow for the sled. Don't' make it by sundown, we'll get stuck in another blizzard." The lecture was grating the man's voice into a sandpaper growl.

Kakashi frowned in confusion.

"How did you get me here?"

"Found you already half-way up the mountain, whatever attacked you, chased you far. Going the way you came would take too long. Short cut is dangerous treading: might slip and fall off cliff face. Long way: safer, but takes whole day, blizzard will kill you." He replied in clipped sentences, his voice starting to strain. Winter raked his fingers through his ragged hair in annoyance.

"Can't heal you up much more. Suck at chakra control." He rumbled regretfully. "Can't leave you here either, else the bears and wolves sniff you out."

"How quickly can _you_ make it to the village?" Kakashi persisted. Winter raised an eyebrow.

"Perfect weather? Short cut, four hours, full-speed."

"Can't you-" Winter clucked his tongue in a scolding manner.

"Told you already. Can't carry you. Will jar your wounds." He reiterated as though explaining to a toddler. Kakashi shook his tousled head.

"With the morphine you could get us there. Even if it's not enough for the full trip. I'm still a shinobi. A little pain isn't going to beat me."

The man stared at him from behind the heavy scarf deep in thought. His gaze flickered blue, then silver in the shadows. It was a whole minute before Winter relented.

"Could do that." He murmured, still reluctant for some reason. Kakashi thought it was perfect.

"Tomorrow. You need rest."

With that, the man turned back to the fire. He didn't speak for the rest of the night.

Kakashi felt troubled by the almost distraught silence.

_What's his problem? I'm leaving. Shouldn't he be happy?_

His full stomach caught up with him though, making him drowsy once again. The younger man glanced sleepily at his sullen companion's back as his began to slip away into the darkness again.

_Why does he seem so...worried?_

_Kakashi_

Blue.

Blue, crinkly eyes

_Sensei_

With slits in the middle

But that's not right

Only red was supposed to have slits like that

_Kyuubi_

It wasn't right

They were blue

Both cold and warm

_Sensei_

But no gold

Just blue

And cold

Wet

…and Fluffy?

"_Yap!"_

The sound was like a needle to his brain.

Kakashi clenched his eyes shut, trying to cling to the fleeting hem of his dream.

"gggrrrr."

He slowly became aware of a tickling sensation sparking against his bare cheek. The leaf nin forced an eye open a crack.

He was greeted by a ball of white and two black dots in the middle.

Mizore was sitting next to his head looming, condemning his existence with her less-than-terrifying gaze.

"ggrrrowwrr."

"Good morning to you too." He could just flick the kit with his pinky finger and send her flying, if he thought he could actually get away with it. The creature sniffed, before trotting over to the dark brooding figure hunched in front of the weakened fire. Winter didn't respond to the kit's insistent tugs on his limp hand.

Kakashi wondered if the man was sleeping, as he shook off the haze of his own slumber. Why were his dreams so ominous lately?

He suddenly became aware of a rather…pressing concern. The young man could already feel his face beginning to prickle in embarrassment.

"Um…" Winter slowly lifted his head and swiveled to meet his averted gaze. "I, uh, gotta…" Why was he so embarrassed? They were both men, damnit.

But something about Winter always made Kakashi feel…exposed. Like the older man _knew_ him.

His face was burning (when was he going to get his mask back?) by the time Winter had decided to put him out of his misery. With a raised eyebrow, the man carefully lifted Kakashi into a sitting position that just tiptoed on the threshold of pain, and gave him an old bottle that had been catching the occasional water drips from the ceiling to relieve himself with. When he finished, Winter capped the bottle without a word, and laid it beside the boulder covered entrance to dispose of when they got outside.

Kakashi couldn't help but be somewhat disturbed by the man's casualness. As if he had done this kind of thing a thousand times.

_Well of course he has, you moron. There's no indoor plumbing. You don't just walk out into the middle of a blizzard if you have to take a leak, do you? _Kakashi mentally scolded himself. _Besides, he's probably saved at least a dozen others before you. It's all in a day's work for this guy._

That still didn't mean it wasn't weird. _You're such a child._

Kakashi was startled out of his thoughts for the hundredth time, by Winter's calloused fingers carefully checking and tightening the bandages around his torso. He really had to stop getting lost in his thoughts if he was losing track of the only other person in the cave. Honestly, what kind of Jonin was he?

Winter got out his medikit and pulled out a small vial barely filled with a clear liquid, an unopened syringe, a cotton swath, and the strong-smelling antiseptic. He methodically prepared the morphine injection, before firmly gripping Kakaashi's upper arm until a good vein became visible. The soft flesh of his forearm was cleaned with the cold swath, and then Winter, with the surgical precision of a doctor, delivered the dose.

Perhaps Winter had upped the dosage, because the next thing he knew he was fully clothed, mask and all, and being wrapped in a heavy blanket, and then hefted onto the older man's pelt covered back. And then all he knew was white.

Cold.

It was cold.

Kakashi was not proud to admit that he almost immediately wanted to go back inside.

Winter paused to kick a hole in the snow under a pine about one hundred meters from the cave and disposed of the bottle Kakashi had used. He then secured his grip on the younger nin, currently clutching onto his back like a monkey, before taking off.

The ride was decidedly unpleasant. In spite of Winter's surprisingly graceful sprinting, and the numbing of the morphine coursing through his veins, Kakashi was jarred roughly with every step. The blizzard had cleared for the time being, but the dark grey clouds still swirled warningly, heavy with precipitation, ready to unleash another gail.

The snow was thick and uneven, firm in some areas, waist-deep in others. Leaping through the trees probably would have been easier for Winter, but the limbs were brittle and the trees themselves unevenly spaced. Trying to lunge from tree to tree would be too hard on Kakashi's healing wounds, so Winter sent pulses of chakra down to the soles of his feet to compensate for each step.

The dry, freezing air and Winter's speed forced him to shut his eyes. He did occassionally sneak a glance at the passing scenery, but all he got was a flurry of black and white shadows before the stinging forced his lids shut again.

He lost all sense of time as Winter sped down the mountainside. The sky was grey, the snow was white, the trees were either dark green or black. There was no sun to warm him or set his mental clock by. The only thing he could time reliably was the slowly receding numbness as the morphine faded away. The more he felt, the shorter the ride became.

Finally, as it got to the point where breathing was impossible without knives in his gut, Winter slowed. The angle of descent had diminished. Kakashi forced his eyes open, wondering why he did not hear the sounds of the village. There were thin trails of smoke rising about fivehundred meters from where they had stopped. Winter gently lowered Kakashi to the ground and propped his back against a tree. As the man stood back, Kakashi finally was able to get a good look at him in light that was not flame.

Winter's face was still covered by the heavy scarf, but his eyes were indeed blue, like oceans. But his hair.

It was...blonde.

Kakashi was overwhelmed by the sheer familiarity and nostalgia, sitting there in the snow, just outside of the village.

"Who-?" he was cut off by a hand forcefully smacked over his face, as if to smother him.

Confused, unarmed, and furious at this sudden betrayal, Kakashi frantically clawed at Winter's face, only to have his fingers catch on the fabric of the scarf, ripping it away, revealing-

Scars.

Like whiskers.

His hands were roughly pinned against the tree, Winter's other hand still covering his face. But he could see through the spaces between the fingers, an almost apologetic expression on a shockingly young face with too old eyes. Winter couldn't be any older than him.

Before he could demand an explanation, Winter smiled sadly.

"'m sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

_Sensei! What-_

And that was all he knew before a blackness invaded his mind and cast him into unconsciousness.


End file.
